Juvenile justice system overview and reform approaches

Juvenile Justice

Discuss the case management approach in juvenile justice. Be sure to identify the purposes and goals, include a comparison of case management models, discuss the necessary elements to effective implementation of this practice, and provide solutions to potential problems that might be encountered.

Juvenile justice case management programs are intended to supervise, monitor, and facilitate the delivery of services to youth that are in contact with the juvenile justice system. These services may include: diversion from the juvenile justice system when it is determined that a youth can be easily supervised and supported, when youth are adjudicated delinquent and the disposition ordered is community supervision, as case management for youth who are adjudicated delinquent and ordered to attend a residential program, or as aftercare after participation in another program (Healy, 1999).

In most current mental health or social work case management programs the functions of the case managers can be broken down into five activities: 1) assess the client's needs, 2) develop a service plan, 3) link the client to needed services, 4) monitor the client's progress and 5) advocate for the client if need be. The original social work case management model consisted of the case manager being exclusively responsible for arranging services and not for serving as a counselor or treatment provider. Two common models of case management are strength based and assertive (Juvenile Justice Case Management Services JJCM and PA-JJCM, 2008).

Strength-based case management assesses the client's strengths and talents and builds on them in the treatment and service plan. In a criminal justice setting, the supportive, positive regard displayed by case managers for their clients must be balanced with disapproval of the client's antisocial attitudes or behaviors. Assertive case management involves delivering services aggressively to the client, rather than passively offering services in a centralized office setting. Assertive case management may require case managers to go out to the client's job, attend community meetings or even locate counseling that is available in the neighborhood where the client lives (Juvenile Justice Case Management Services JJCM and PA-JJCM, 2008).

The case management of offenders raises a number of difficult issues, including how to provide ongoing services to inmates that are returning to the community. There is also a problem with how to use sanctions to make sure that the client participates in services, while avoiding unnecessary incarceration. And how to measure program to make sure it is effective. Besides these structural issues, criminal justice case managers face a number of unique challenges. These include sustaining consistent levels of service while the offender passes through the criminal justice system and back to the community and developing employment resources for offenders after they are released (Juvenile Justice Case Management Services JJCM and PA-JJCM, 2008).

What treatment strategies appear to be promising in meeting the varied needs of youth with addictions, mental health issues or a history of abuse? Compare and contrast treatment programs developed for these groups of offenders. Identify the role of parents, schools, juvenile courts, and specific service providers in cross-disciplinary treatment of these multi-problem youth.

For many years, researchers, clinicians, and juvenile justice program administrators have known that there is a link between drug use and juvenile crime. In many communities around the country the majority of juveniles that get into trouble are drug users. Other research has indicated that juvenile drug use plays a major role in recurring, chronic, and violent delinquency behaviors. Juvenile drug use is also related to poor health, weakening family relationships, declining school performance, and other social and psychological problems (VanderWaal, McBride, Terry-McElrath, and VanBuren, 2001).